The Dead End Road Story [Prov 16:25]:
Preface: I began this piece with the intent that wilful sin is the dead end road which separates us from the plan of God, as is currently taught in most churches today. As I wrote this out I found instead that God’s plan includes the power to overcome this barrier, and that the ultimate "dead end road" is simply not coming out to find His provision for us this day [John 9:39-41].
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I have a story to tell you, which includes a lesson we need to consider at this point. [It was a long time ago; I hope the details are reasonably accurate]
I was with a friend, traveling and camping, deep in Mexico. We were headed down the coast, ever further south each day, always trying to get a spot on the water, where I could do a quick dive, and hopefully find some game to eat, being an avid spearfisherman. We would get up early, break camp, and set our sights south, to the next good beach site within the distance of that day’s travel.
One day I arose, and with map in hand, and a cup of coffee in the other, and I found what looked like a nice spot, way down a small side road, about a day’s travel south. That particular region was mostly a vast wasteland, with not many good spots available for us to make it through the night, except this single one; but that one location really looked perfect. We broke camp, and headed out. But driving well past noon, and still searching for the road we must turn down, we began to worry if we had missed it. Finally, way out in the middle of nowhere, we came across a tiny road that looked like the one. Deep in Mexico it is always so hard to tell, because they have so few signs, and this road was no exception to that rule [it must also be noted that even with the few signs that are posted, our weak language skills often caused additional potential for confusion]. But, this road seemed to be heading out to the coast in the right location. We looked around, but there was nothing out there, no one we might ask. It was already late, and we needed to get set up; so we decided to take a chance, and headed down the road.
Quickly the road turned into two deep ruts, very narrow, with a close wall of dense brush on each side, twenty feet high. This made it absolutely impossible to turn around, and I sensed the potential issues, pausing for a moment to consider. For as far as I could see down the long road there were just those two ruts, with no turnaround visible. What if we came to another vehicle, and ended up having to back out? Questions of all sorts of possibilities raced through my mind. I remembered one side trip, in which a simple cactus thorn gave us a flat tire, which nearly caused major problems. We stared over the map once more; it really did appear to be the right road. So, we decided to go on anyway.
Mile after mile the two ruts led us on, and not a single place to turn around. Well over half an hour down this road we still had come to nothing, and I was becoming even more concerned. I just couldn’t even fathom having to back out this now great distance. Fortunately we never came upon an opposing car before we finally came to a lone ranch house, with a small place in front to turn around. That was it; no beach, no place to camp, and no further possibilities. The only thing left to do was to drive back out of what proved to be my worst ever experience with a true dead end road. When we finally got back to the intersection, we had blown over an hour of an already late day; and we were only just then returning to zero, to the point where we had made a bad decision. And, I fully recognized that it might have been far worse still, had any of a myriad of other possible things gone wrong. I will never forget the feeling of being trapped in those two ruts, with no options, and in constant fear of what else might go wrong, which might keep us from finding a place of rest before darkness fell upon us.
This day we now stand at this crossroads, and many may be looking down some very serious dead end roads. But, unlike my bad experience, God, in His kindness, has put a man walking along on his assigned journey, and he happens to be standing there at that intersection, right when you drive up, trying to find your way [all figuratively speaking].
So, listen up, my friends. This is a very powerful play we are in, which God is directing; and there are two ways to play it: the wise way, or the unwise way. The only other option is if you decide you would rather die [go to hell, where you don’t actually die; you are tormented for a very long time] than to ‘play this game’ [His "game," which is actually not a game].
This is what it will be: if you ever hope to find the true place of rest, the only rest available to us this day, then you will end up going down His assigned road, the road He said before [hidden in His Word], the right road [Is 35:8], one way or the other. But it will either be the harder way, or the easier way. The only question you now face is if you will heed the advice of this man passing by, who knows these roads fairly well. Many are still looking down the wrong roads, thinking about heading on down one of those ways, because of old habits or disinformation, and maybe you just are not sure which way to go. We often have lived an old pattern of a sinful life for so long that it may be quite awkward to just quit; so we may think it seems reasonable to keep the status quo for awhile. Others are trying to find better answers, but have turned down roads which do not actually have that place of rest in the end; but still searching, they are looking down the next wrong roads [Prov 16:25]. So, I walk over to you, [figuratively speaking] and say to you, "Look friend, I know this area pretty well, and you don’t even want to begin down that road. It only leads to a dead end. And it can take up a whole lot of your time; you might get a flat tire, and there is no place for help. Banditos are in these parts too, and they might accost you, or even rape, rob, and kill you. If you make it out of there at all, in the long run you will only end up right back here, finally realizing that this other road is truly the only choice you could correctly make."
And so, I then point you down the right road [Is 40:3].
As noted above, these dead end roads come in various forms, but the end product is always the same; serious waste of time, with real potential for grave losses. Now, for those wasting their lives away in obvious sin, listen closely to the scary part: with God, we never know just how He will handle it when we yet again refuse His kind efforts to guide us to the right way, the acceptable way of life. It is true that He is quite long-suffering, and often does not immediately discipline us for our sinful ways. But sometimes, when we try to hold onto something we are not supposed to have, and we just won’t let go, He finally acts. It might be that He drags us out in front of everybody, in full-frontal naked shame [that was mine, more than once] [see Num 12:5-16]. Then He can even add serious discipline to it, like getting crucified in that naked shame [such as legal proceedings against us, or divorce, or financial ruin]. Or He might break our hand, to make us drop it, as He did mine [to turn me from violence]:
Ps 51:8
8 Make me hear joy and gladness,
That the bones You have broken may rejoice. NKJV™
Wilful sin is truly a dead end road; yet this special day the Lord is more than willing to help us fix these problems, and our very real desires for these wrong ways [please also see the companion document to this page, "Sin Not The Real Barrier"]. That is why He has sent that man out there, to stand at those intersections, to help in understanding which way to turn this day. And just as importantly, this special day the Lord is far more willing to help us succeed in these difficult struggles than in times past; it is a day of special grace not seen before. Therefore take advantage of His great kindness to us, and heed the help being offered, the guidance of the one He sent. In times past, without His help to succeed, and the guidance of the one He sent, we would just end up faltering, and because of it end up separated again from the very One we need, our sins causing the Holy Spirit to step away from us, and our unholy ways.
Eph 4:30
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. NKJV™
This was because He had already made a decision long ago to take a stand against us, and our evil choices, when we rejected His Word in the Garden, and opted instead for the doctrines of a murder, prophetically set out in [Zech 11:9-14], and played out in visible, carnal detail, at the crucifixion of Jesus [Mark 15:7-15].
Zech 11:9
9 Then I said, "I will not feed you. Let what is dying die, and what is perishing perish. Let those that are left eat each other's flesh." NKJV™
Clearly stated, His intent was not to"feed" us {the opened Word of truth}; but this special day He is relenting of this edict, and will now pour out all His power to help us, and no longer hinder us:
Jer 32:41
41 Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.' NKJV™
Formerly, since we were not getting the help we needed to be successful in our genuine efforts to change, the whole thing would collapse back into a loser mess, and bitter defeat. It was often an endless cycle of "revivals," and then relapses. Like AA groups insist, once a person is an alcoholic, then they can at any moment relapse; so it has been with us: once a sinner, always a sinner; at least it has seemed so. This day promises to be different from any day before it.
For those who have been trying to find help down all the wrong roads, do not let all those frustrations dissuade you; they were all designed for just that purpose, by the enemy of us all. These ‘seekers’ are the ones who do want to change, and are trying to find shelter, but with all the disinformation being set before them, they end up chasing down long roads to nowhere. These people often get to the point of thinking that there truly is no answer to be found; or they end up in compromised situations simply because it was the best they could figure out at the time.
There is one other category of people, a special group of dead enders, which we must make mention of: those who were called to serve before, but have not truly done so yet. These are the ones Jonah was written for; and they were the only sign we were to see this day:
Matt 12:39
39 But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. NKJV™
This particular group is at the heart of much of the problems of this world, a subject too deep to fully discuss at this juncture. But, suffice it to say that they have not only resisted the journey for themselves, but they also do not help others find their way to the journey either, according to the story of Jonah. And, a real big additional problem with this group is the damages caused because of their battles with God over it. And according to Jonah 1:5, not only did the innocent people around him suffer near death, and great property loss, but Jonah was also asleep at the wheel, so to speak:
Jonah 1:5
5 Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep. NKJV™
Throughout the process of their selfish battles with God, no one comes to the journey of getting right with God as long as these Jonah types do not do their jobs. Not only do many not understand the seriousness of the approaching day [pictured in our story as the approaching night, a time of darkness in which we need to get rest], but they also never even know there is a paradise-like place of rest out there either. This whole group, including the Jonah types themselves, is the ultimate dead end road, because they are not even out there, seeking this much needed place of rest before the darkness comes [Matt 24:37-39; and Zeph 2:1-3]. If you don’t go on the journey in the first place, then you never do find that paradise; most often you never even know it was there to find.
Many also do not know the day of darkness is approaching, so that we even need to find that shelter, because the Jonah types do not do their job. Often completely caught up with the things of this world, from business to pleasures, they never break free to go out on the journey in the first place. Some of these do not recognize how wondrous that place of rest will end up being. Others do know, but have not gone on the journey in the first place, refusing the leading from the Lord, and maybe even refusing to help others to get there too. As bad as some of those wrong turns can be out thee in such a journey, seeking God is at least a beginning; and now God has placed a servant out there, for all those willing to begin that journey to finding the truth about His great provision for us all.
The whole point of this story is that this special Day is unlike any day before it, since the beginning, in the Garden of Eden. In this vast wilderness that life on earth has become [this is true, even though many who are rich are too insulated to know this fact], there has been created a place of rest, for the stormy night soon to come. Be thankful to Him Who has so kindly designed all these things, and given us this chance to come to the rest He has provided. There is only one road to get there; it passes through these studies, The Promise Of The Resurrected Word study series. Stop going down endless dead end roads, and at the same time do not drive on past the turn off. Hear the one sent out to point you down the right road, the only acceptable road. And, at the very least come out on the journey and try to find this wondrous place, already waiting for us. This time He will help us.
Rev 14:6-7
6 Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth — to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people — 7 saying with a loud voice, "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water." NKJV™
{see related files, "Sin Not Real Barrier," and "Dead End Ducks"}
Get seeking soon, because the time is already late; and don’t waste time down any more dead end roads.
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